‘Una Noche’: Lucy Mulloy debut feature presented with ‘urgent, rough-hewn simplicity’ (photo: Anailín de la Rúa de la Torre, Javier Núñez Florián, Dariel Arrechaga in the movie ‘Una Noche’) The story of three Havana teenagers attempting to escape Cuba for a better life in America is conveyed with urgent, rough-hewn simplicity in director Lucy Mulloy’s Una Noche. Making very effective use of Cuban non-pro actors, Mulloy takes us around the mean streets of Havana, where the shops are empty, but private homes stock everything from jewelry to motors to HIV meds. What the British-born, first-time feature director might lack in narrative polish, she makes up for with a genuine sense of empathy for her yearning, troubled characters and an artist’s eye for the beauty of decay. Mulloy even went to great trouble to shoot in 35mm instead of digital, a testament to her production moxie and desire for visual authenticity,...
- 9/5/2013
- by Mark Keizer
- Alt Film Guide
And the Deep Blue Sea: Mulloy’s Compelling Portrait of Desperation
Granted unprecedented access to film in Havana, Cuba, first time director/screenwriter Lucy Mulloy crafts a vibrantly engrossing tale of desperate youths and their hopeful aspirations, frankly depicting issues of sex tourism and queer identities among an already belabored people. With a locale that threatens to distract, if only for the visual infrequency with which many of us our able to experience it, Mulloy’s slickly paced narrative not only manages to click along with surprising agility, but warmly portrays three adolescents as they take action to pursue a courageous and dangerous dream for a better life. Tenderly observed, Mulloy’s provocative drama is an excitedly assured directorial debut.
Lila’s (Anailin de la Rua de la Torre) opening narration informs us of her profound connection to her twin brother, Elio (Javier Nunez Florian), who has recently begun to distance himself from her.
Granted unprecedented access to film in Havana, Cuba, first time director/screenwriter Lucy Mulloy crafts a vibrantly engrossing tale of desperate youths and their hopeful aspirations, frankly depicting issues of sex tourism and queer identities among an already belabored people. With a locale that threatens to distract, if only for the visual infrequency with which many of us our able to experience it, Mulloy’s slickly paced narrative not only manages to click along with surprising agility, but warmly portrays three adolescents as they take action to pursue a courageous and dangerous dream for a better life. Tenderly observed, Mulloy’s provocative drama is an excitedly assured directorial debut.
Lila’s (Anailin de la Rua de la Torre) opening narration informs us of her profound connection to her twin brother, Elio (Javier Nunez Florian), who has recently begun to distance himself from her.
- 8/22/2013
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
The Cuban emigre saga earns a surprising love triangle treatment in Lucy Mulloy's "Una Noche," a tale of the young and the desperate willing to risk their lives on rafts to get to America. From its earliest moments to its melodramatic finale, writer-director Mulloy manages to trip up our expectations even while telling a version of an oft-told tale.
Lila (Anailin de la Rua de La Torre) narrates our story, a teenager enduring an unhappy home life and the torments of Havana's version of "mean girls." A beauty in most cultures, she gets picked on by the blondes who call her "hairy" because of her arms, armpits and eyebrows.
Her twin brother Elio (Javier Nunez Florian) is her defender and her champion. Don't listen to "the plastic girls," he lectures. But Lila acknowledges in her narration that she is "more comfortable watching people than talking with them. Especially boys.
Lila (Anailin de la Rua de La Torre) narrates our story, a teenager enduring an unhappy home life and the torments of Havana's version of "mean girls." A beauty in most cultures, she gets picked on by the blondes who call her "hairy" because of her arms, armpits and eyebrows.
Her twin brother Elio (Javier Nunez Florian) is her defender and her champion. Don't listen to "the plastic girls," he lectures. But Lila acknowledges in her narration that she is "more comfortable watching people than talking with them. Especially boys.
- 8/22/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
“Write what you know” is the axiom most first time storytellers follow. But English-born writer/director Lucy Mulloy, who studied at Nyu under film studies professor Spike Lee, decided to take on the opposite approach for her feature debut, “Una Noche." “I wasn’t thinking about it being my feature debut or anything grandiose,” Mulloy said about the Cuban-set movie she started as a thesis short and then expanded into a feature. Starring Dariel Arrechaga, Javier Núñez Florián and Anailín de la Rúa de la Torre, the magnetic drama tells the story of three teenagers who dream of escaping Havana for a better life in the U.S. and then are forced to do so when one is accused of assault. And the film was certainly well received. It cleaned up at Tribeca Film Festival in 2012 taking home Best Actor, Cinematography, and New Director honors in the Narrative competition, and...
- 8/21/2013
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
Una Noche Trailer. Lucy Mulloy‘s Una Noche (2012) movie trailer, a film presented by Spike Lee, stars Dariel Arrechaga, Anailín de la Rúa de la Torre, Javier Núñez Florián, María Adelaida Méndez Bonet, and Greisy del Valle. Una Noche‘s plot synopsis: “Mired in the nervous desperation of Havana, Raul dreams of escaping [...]
Continue reading: Una Noche (2012) Movie Trailer: Miami and Better Lives Await the Bold...
Continue reading: Una Noche (2012) Movie Trailer: Miami and Better Lives Await the Bold...
- 7/29/2013
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
The Playlist staff like bicker and fight amongst are ourselves about the merits of whatever movie might be in theaters or coming up soon, but one movie that was met with rare collective praise is Lucy Malloy's "Una Noche." Hitting the festival circuit in a big way through 2012, most of us caught up with it at the Tribeca Film Festival and it was easily the highlight of that year. Now, after a long, long wait, it's finally coming to cinemas and a brand new trailer has arrived. Now boasting the approval of Spike Lee, "Una Noche" presents the story of three Cuban teenagers (Dariel Arrechaga, Anailin de la Rua de la Torre, and Javier Nunez Florian) who eye Miami as place to give them a fighting chance against poverty, while weighing what the journey could mean to each of them personally. It's a film that was met with the rave reviews almost across the board,...
- 7/26/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Fourteen years after he helped launch the Dogme 95 movement with his family drama “The Celebration,” director Thomas Vinterberg returned to Cannes this past month with his latest film, “The Hunt.” As the Croisette is wont to do, reactions were immensely divided, with some calling the film a masterpiece of near-unbearable dread, while others found the film a manipulative soap opera. Luckily for the filmmakers though, those in distribution kept a keen eye, and have now tapped the film for a future Us release.
THR reports Magnolia Pictures have acquired the U.S. rights from sales group TrustNordisk, and we're guessing they plan to release the film by year's end. The drama follows Mads Mikkelsen, who impressed Cannes enough to win Best Actor this past weekend, as a man suddenly plunged into a world of accusations and hatred after his genial relationship with a young girl (Annika Wedderkopp) goes truly awry.
THR reports Magnolia Pictures have acquired the U.S. rights from sales group TrustNordisk, and we're guessing they plan to release the film by year's end. The drama follows Mads Mikkelsen, who impressed Cannes enough to win Best Actor this past weekend, as a man suddenly plunged into a world of accusations and hatred after his genial relationship with a young girl (Annika Wedderkopp) goes truly awry.
- 6/1/2012
- by Charlie Schmidlin
- The Playlist
Courtesy of Variety, we have learned that Sundance Selects has acquired the North American rights to Lucy Mulloy‘s Una Noche, which had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival and its Us premiere at Tiff this year. It won three awards at the latter — Best New Narrative Director, Best Cinematography in a Narrative Feature Film as well as Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film.
The film, of which was also scripted by Mulloy, stars Dariel Arrechaga, Anailin de la Rua de la Toree and Javier Nunez Florian. She also served as a producer alongside Daniel Mulloy, Maite Artieda, Sandy Perez and Yunior Santiago. The film “follows a day in the lives of two Cuban teens faced with the stark contrast between the tourists’ lives and their own struggle with poverty.”
In some similar North American distribution news, Variety also reports that Drafthouse Films have acquired the rights...
The film, of which was also scripted by Mulloy, stars Dariel Arrechaga, Anailin de la Rua de la Toree and Javier Nunez Florian. She also served as a producer alongside Daniel Mulloy, Maite Artieda, Sandy Perez and Yunior Santiago. The film “follows a day in the lives of two Cuban teens faced with the stark contrast between the tourists’ lives and their own struggle with poverty.”
In some similar North American distribution news, Variety also reports that Drafthouse Films have acquired the rights...
- 5/31/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Acquisitions from the Tribeca Film Festival are starting to trickle in, with Sundance Selects picking up North American rights to Lucy Mulloy’s “Una Noche” Thursday. After its world premiere at the Berlin fest, Mulloy’s debut feature won a trio of awards in competition at Tribeca, including one for best new narrative director. Dariel Arrechaga, Anailin de la Rua de la Torre and Javier Nuñez Florian star in the story of three Cuban teenagers struggling with poverty and stark choices about what a better life in Miami might mean. Mulloy, who wrote the screenplay, produced along with Daniel Mulloy, Maite Artieda, Sandy Perez and Yunior Santiago. "‘Una Noche’ is a remarkable first film that vividly takes us into the lives of 3 teenagers living in Havana looking for a better life,” said Sundance Selects/IFC Films president Jonathan Sehring. “Lucy Mulloy is a major director to watch and has created a film that is both.
- 5/31/2012
- by Jay A. Fernandez
- Indiewire
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